The regions of Lahul (
Lha yul) and Spiti (
sPi ti) were earlier parts of Ladakh, but since 1684-1847 they were one by one removed from Ladakh. At the end of the
Tibet–Ladakh–Mughal war (1679–1684 CE), Lahaul valley was separated from Ladakh by king Bidhi Singh of
Chamba State who had sided with the Tibet-Mughal alliance. Following the end of the independent
Kingdom of Ladakh (1842) and the
Treaty of Amritsar (1846) between
British East India Company and king
Gulab Singh of
Jammu and Kashmir princely state, Spiti valley too was officially separated from Ladakh by the British. In 1847, Lahaul and Spiti were formally added to the
Kangra district of
British Punjab by the
British Raj, legally severing the ancient ties to Zanskar. Nevertheless, Lahaulis fought for the defence of Ladakh and Zanskar during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948.
Major Prithi Chand of
Indian Army trekked over the
Zoji La pass in winter to arrive in Leh before the Pakistan-backed
raiders from Gilgit could. In 1979, when Ladakh was divided into two districts by the state of
Jammu and Kashmir, the predominantly Buddhist region of Zanskar was attached to the Muslim-majority
Kargil district. Work on the stretch of the road between
Nimmu and
Padum, called the
Chadar Road, was begun by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Works Department in the 1970s. But it was reportedly cancelled by a member of the
Legislative Assembly from Srinagar to prevent linking of Zanskar with Leh. Due to linguistic and religious similarities between
Tibeta Buddhist-majority Zanskar and Leh, the Muslim politicians of Kargil had apprehensions that Zanskar might eventually come under
Leh district's jurisdiction. So, instead of the Chadar Road, a road between Kargil and Padum was constructed, keeping Padum and Zanskar valley cut off from the road access to Leh city and Lahaul and Spiti valleys. Following the
Kargil War in 1999, the unfinished Nimmu–Padum "Chadar Road" project was handed over to the
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for completion. The construction of a road along the
Chadar trek (the frozen
Zanskar River during winters) faced opposition from stakeholders, such as trekkers who believed it would destroy the area's wild, pristine environment. Furthermore, in 2007, the central government questioned the Jammu and Kashmir state government regarding the necessity of this project. Despite this, the Buddhist councillor of the
Lingshed constituency defended the construction of road, arguing that its construction was a vital "right" for developing the region's remote and underdeveloped villages. Between May 2014 and June 2017, a 38 km long rudimentary road on the Padum-Darcha section was first constructed from
Ramjak in Lahaul to Kargyakh in Zanskar via the Shingo La. It was built by
Tsultrim Chonjor (also called
"Meme Chonjor"), a Buddhist retired government employee from Zanskar who funded the project himself with the help from local villagers.After failing to convince the government to construct the road, he decided to build it himself; he was subsequently awarded the
Padma Shri in 2021 for his efforts. Between May 2014 and June 2017, a 38 km long rudimentary road on the Padum-Darcha route was first constructed from Ramjak in Lahaul to Kargyak in Zanskar via the Shingo La pass. It was built by Tsultrim Chonjor (also known as "Meme Chonjor"), a retired government employee from Zanskar who funded the project himself with the help of local villagers. After failing to convince the government to construct the road, he decided to build it himself; he was subsequently awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 for his efforts On 20 June 2024, the
Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) conducted a trial run of a bus service from
Keylong in Lahaul to Padum. This is the first time that a public bus has traversed this route. The 37-seat bus took 9 hours for the journey. Commercial service during the summer months only, June to October, is expected to start after further formalities. ==Route==